Passion Of Artemisia

The Passion of Artemisia contained both historical accuracies and inaccuracies. The author Susan Vreeland was fairly accurate in describing the cuisine and Galileo. However, there were discrepancies concerning Artemisia’s paintings of Judith, her family, and the architecture.

Susan Vreeland frequently described the Italian cuisine throughout the book. While on the journey to Florence, Artemisia and Pietro ate simpler meals which consisted of bread, salami, green apples, and various cheeses (Vreeland 52). The day-to-day food that Artemisia prepared includes pasta, eggplants, cheese, sausage, bread, and beans, as described on page 74. On the other hand, the food prepared in the palaces of her patrons was much more elaborate. In The Passion of

During the Renaissance, various ingredients became staples in Italian dining. Some commonly used vegetables were eggplants, zucchinis, and peppers (Pallanti). Michael Pallanti also explains that bread, pasta, and a variety of cheese were also included in meals as were meats like salami and prosciutto. Wealthier people ate more and finer meats like beef roasts, pheasants, and ham (“Renaissance Food”). Baroque paintings also give an indication as to what was consumed during the time period. For instance, Annibale Carracci’s The Beaneater depicts a peasant eating beans with some bread and wine. Kitchen Still-Life, painted by Evaristo Baschenis, shows many and different types of fowl. Figs, grapes, apples are shown in Boy with a Basket of Fruit while peaches and quinces were in the 17th century Still-Life by Fede Galizia. In addition to the food, the fork is another utensil incorporated into Italian culture because of the Renaissance. Suzanne Von Drachenfels made it clear that it was originally brought into Italy in the eleventh century as part of a dowry for a Venetian magistrate. However, as she mentioned, the fork wasn’t commonly used until the late 16th century when upper-class Italians became interested in it for hygienic reasons. In 1611, Thomas Coryate published Coryat 's Crudities, a narrative describing his travels throughout Europe, which described the use of a fork in Italy. In it, as quoted by Von Drachenfels, the narrative states, “I observed a custom in all those Italian Cities and Towns through which I passed that is not used in any other country that I saw in my travels [...] The Italian, and also most strangers that are cormorant in Italy, does always at their meals, use a little fork [...] The reason of this their curiosity is because the Italian cannot endure by any means to have his dish touched by fingers